The season has finally kicked off and another year of Ducks hockey has begun. With that new beginning also begins a new season for the plethora of talent in the Ducks prospect pool. We’re going to take a look at the Top 21 Ducks prospects under 21 and in no particular order preview their season ahead and their potential for the future. Some key names have “aged out” of this category including; Jamie Drysdale, Drew Helleson, Nikita Nesterenko, Jackson LaCombe, Lukas Dostal and Brayden Tracey. I’ve chosen to exclude any established NHL players under 21, which really only knocks off Mason McTavish. Jacob Perreault, Ian Moore and Calle Clang have all been included despite being 21 as they are key members of the Ducks system… and selfishly Top 18 under 21 doesn’t sound as nice.
All stats courtesy of CapFriendly.com, EliteProspects.com, and CHL.ca
Leo Carlsson, C
6’3” 194lbs
18 years old – Dec. 26th, 2004
Karlstad, Sweden
Season Outlook: The Ducks shirked their ridiculous policy of handing out “rookie numbers” to give Carlsson the #91 to start the year. Could it mean nothing, sure. However, all signs point to Carlsson spending the entire season on the Ducks roster and not just as a bystander, but a key contributor on the team’s top line centering Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry. Unfortunately we’ll have to wait a bit for his NHL debut after suffering a minor injury in practice last week. The aim seems to be for him to make his NHL debut next Thursday when the Ducks take on the Stars at Honda Center. Carlsson is the gem of the Ducks’ prospect pool and he’s poised to make an impact sooner rather than later.
Potential: Carlsson has the tools and ability to be a true first line center in the NHL. High hockey IQ, exceptional playmaking, prototypical size, and a smooth skating stride are just some of the attributes that lend a hand to projecting Carlsson as a future top line talent. The talk is all about Bedard and Fantilli, but Carlsson might just be in the best position out of all of them to succeed right from the start. The Ducks future down the middle is in safe hands with Carlsson and Mason McTavish.
Nathan Gaucher, C
6’3” 207lbs
19 years old – Nov. 6th, 2003
Chambly, Quebec
Season Outlook: Gaucher ended his final year of QMJHL eligibility with a bang, ending the season as a QMJHL Champion, Memorial Cup Champion, World Junior Gold Medalist, and winning the Guy Carbonneau Trophy as the QMJHL’s best defensive forward. He now enters his first season of professional hockey with a young San Diego Gulls team led by new head coach Matt McIlvane. He made his debut on Friday centering the Gulls’ third line with Sasha Pastujov and Judd Caufield and picked up an assist on Sunday for his first AHL point. I imagine that role continues to increase as the season goes on and he could easily usurp Andrew Agozzino or Glenn Gawdin to take a top six center role.
Potential: Gaucher walking away with the Guy Carbonneau trophy should tell you everything about his game and what to expect from him in the future on the Ducks roster. At worst he ends up a valuable bottom six forward who anchors one of your penalty kill units and is just not fun for the opposition to line up against. At best he ends up an elite shutdown center who the Ducks have the luxury of using on their third line playing behind McTavish and Carlsson. It will be interesting to see how his offensive game translates to the pro level and could be the difference maker in how quickly he makes it onto the NHL roster.
Jacob Perreault, RW
6’0” 193lbs
21 years old – Apr. 15th, 2002
Montreal, Quebec
Season Outlook: Perreault’s 2022/23 season started well with 6 goals and 10 points in his first 15 games where he averaged 2 shots per game. Unfortunately the success stagnated, as did most of the Gulls offense, and he only recorded 2 goals and 9 points over his final 33 games averaging less than one shot per game. It feels like we are getting to do-or-die territory now with Perreault with many, myself included, expecting him to be further along in his development by now. He has started the new season on the second line with Pavol Regenda and Andrew Agozzino and buried a one-timer for a goal in the season opener. He followed that up with a goal and assist in last nights 6-4 win over the Ontario Reign. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come for Perreault this season.
Potential: Perreault periodically flashes the skill set that made him a first round pick and had many projecting him to be a future top six forward for the Ducks. Unfortunately, consistency has been a struggle for the Quebec native after coming off career lows in his third season in the AHL with 8 goals and 19 points in 48 games played. It’s do-or-die for him to take a big leap forward this year and prove he belongs on the Ducks roster rather than San Diego.
Sasha Pastujov, RW
6’0” 187lbs
20 years old – Jul. 15th, 2003
Bradenton, Florida
Season Outlook: Pastujov enters his first season with the Gulls after making his pro debut this past Friday recording an assist in the season opener. There are high expectations for him to produce after he finished 4th in league scoring with 41 goals and 98 points in 60 games played, 6th in shots on goal with 274 and 5th in powerplay goals with 16 with the Sarnia Sting/Guelph Storm last season. He started the season on the third line with Gaucher and Caufield and will have to impress to take a top six spot from Tracey, Nesterenko, Perreault or Regenda. I expect him to swap places with Tracey as early as the 15-game mark for the Gulls and never look back.
Potential: Pastujov still has top six upside, however this season will give us a benchmark on just how along he is in his development. It’s a massive jump from the OHL to the AHL and it’ll take some time for him to adjust and produce at the pro level. He likely ends up as a valuable middle-six contributor for the Ducks in the future and will be a valuable complimentary piece to the dynamic trio of Zegras, McTavish and Carlsson. He’s impressed at every level and I don’t expect that to change this season.
Nico Myatovic, LW
6’3” 187lbs
18 years old – Dec. 1st, 2004
Prince George, BC
Season Outlook: Myatovic is heading into his D+1 season with the Seattle Thunderbirds in the WHL and is off to a decent start with one goal and three points in three games. Seattle were the WHL Champions last season, but this year should look drastically different as they’ll be without their five leading scorers from last season who have all graduated out of the WHL. They will also be without their two big acquisitions from last season, Brad Lambert and Dylan Guenther, who are playing in the AHL this season. That leaves Myatovic as the highest remaining point producer from last season where he posted 30 goals and 60 points in 68 games played. He’ll be relied upon heavily and it will be interesting to see if he can take the reins offensively and improve on his production from last season.
Potential: One of last year’s draft late risers, Myatovic climbed from fourth round projection to eventually being taken with the first pick in the second round. A strong two-way forward who is great on the forecheck, however it was his consistent improvement to his offensive game that saw him rise up the rankings and impress scouts. With the loss of several key plays in Seattle this season he needs to show he is able to create plays with the puck more frequently rather than relying on his linemates to create opportunities in the offensive zone. His defensive acumen provides him a safe floor as a bottom-six two-way forward at the NHL level. If his scoring and individual play driving can improve he could be an excellent complimentary scoring piece in a teams middle-six.
Carey Terrance, C/LW
6’1” 179lbs
18 years old – May. 10th, 2005
Akwesasne, NY
Season Outlook: One of the Ducks three second round picks last year, Terrance heads into his third season with the Erie Otters as their main offensive threat. He led the team in scoring last season with 30 goals and 47 points in 67 games played. While the Otters aren’t off to a hot start (2-4-1), Terrance has 3 goals and 8 points in 7 games. He’s playing a bit of a hybrid C/LW role currently, splitting faceoff duties with sophomore Malcolm Spence. With a slightly better team around him, he has a chance to improve to the 40-goal/80-point range this season. Which would make him one of the premier goal scorers at the OHL level. Only 14-players scored 40 or more during the 2022-23 season.
Potential: The main thing that stands out about Terrance is his speed. He’s an explosive skater with or without the puck and possesses exceptional quickness and agility that allows him to beat defenders with ease. He’s one of those guys that just does everything well. He might not be a standout in anything in particular but he’s got a good shot, solid two-way ability and competes hard. If anything he needs to work on his physicality, especially if he’s going to be a center at the NHL level. He’s not small, but definitely doesn’t play to his size. I expect him to be an all situations winger at the NHL level and one who can slot in nicely on the Ducks third line and penalty kill units.
Coulson Pitre, RW
6’1” 172lbs
18 years old – Dec. 13th, 2004
Stouffville, ON
Season Outlook: Drafted 65th overall, Pitre put together an impressive draft year campaign with 25 goals and 60 points in 59 games played. Heading into his third season with the Flint Firebirds he’s playing RW on the second line which is centered by his brother Kaden. It’s been a slow start for Pitre and the Firebirds as a whole. He has one assist in 4 games while the team has stumbled to a 1-5-0 record to start the year. Things should get better for Pitre as the season goes on, but it’s a tough start for a guy people thought could push for 40 goals in the OHL this season.
Potential: Versatility has been a trend over the past three players we’ve looked at and it doesn’t stop here. He has a high hockey IQ, is an above average skater, flashes some exciting playmaking skill and is an underrated finisher. Throw all that in with the fact he was one of the OHL’s hit leaders and you’ve got a buzzsaw type of player who does it all. There aren’t any elite standout qualities, however he has the makings of a player who can carve out a long career as a valuable middle-six contributor who can play any role he’s asked.
Yegor Sidorov, RW
6’0” 183lbs
19 years old – Jun. 18th, 2004
Vitebjk, Belarus
Season Outlook: Sidorov likes to do two things; shoot the puck and score goals. Both of which he led the Saskatoon Blades in last season. He’s picked up where he left off with points in all seven games this season, amassing 6 goals and 11 points. He leads the WHL with 6.3 shots per game. The Blades are one of the WHLs best teams and if Sidorov can play the entire season he could finish with 50 goals and 90+ points. He’s playing on the team’s second line, but has developed chemistry on the powerplay with the Blades top line center Trevor Wong, so we could see a move to the top line as the season progresses.
Potential: This is where we throw the versatility card out the window. Sidorov is a sniper through-and-through. He has great puck handling ability to beat defenders and has strong awareness and positioning in the offensive zone. Beyond that his skating needs work and he lacks competitiveness in his own zone. It’s going to take time to develop for him at each level and for him to flourish he’ll need to be put in the right situation with the right linemates. If that happens he has the shooting ability to be a 30-goal scorer at the NHL level. Without that he could be little more than a depth option at the NHL level.
Connor Hvidston, C/RW
6’2” 185lbs
19 years old – Sept. 11th, 2004
Tisdale, SK
Season Outlook: Hvidston might be my favorite player on this list. That’s saying something when this list also includes Leo Carlsson, Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger. One of the youngest players in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, he doubled his point production from his rookie season with 21 goals and 65 points in 59 games played. He’s back at it again this season with 6 goals and 11 points in his first 7 games. Five of those six goals are on the powerplay. He had only eight power play goals last season. He’s centering the Broncos top line and power play. Oh.. and he’s also winning 52% of his draws. He’s currently projected at 57 goals and 104 points in 66 games and while that’s a bit of a stretch he’s certainly in line to improve on his totals from last season.
Potential: Hvidston’s hallmark during his draft-year was his off-puck abilities. He’s an advanced defender, adept at intercepting the puck and forcing turnovers. He flashed some offensive upside during his rookie season, but his impact with the puck was inconsistent. Last season it was his playmaking that took a step forward. He showed craftiness with the puck on his stick and the ability to find space and hit open teammates. The only thing lacking was the goal scoring side of his game with 21 goals and averaging only 2.3 shots per game. Which ranked 4th and 7th on his team respectively. It’s early, but he’s seemingly added the final infinity stone to his gauntlet with six goals (five on the powerplay) in seven games and averaging 3.0 shots. He ranks first and second respectively among his teammates. If everything comes together he could be a legitimate second line center in the NHL. Even if the offense doesn’t translate to the next level, he’s a safe enough bet to be a bottom-six contributor who makes your penalty kill a lot better.
Michael Callow, RW
6’4” 181lbs
19 years old – Jan. 15th, 2004
Boston, MA
Season Outlook: Callow is heading into his freshman season at Harvard after playing as a rookie in the USHL for the Muskegon Lumberjacks last season. He recorded 21 goals and 40 points in 61 games played. He’ll join fellow Ducks prospect Ian Moore on a Harvard team that will be severely depleted after losing Sean Farrell, Alex Laferriere, Matthew Coronato, and Henry Thrun. It opens up a great opportunity for Callow to establish himself as a top-six forward this season. He might not start the season in that role, but without those star players in front of him it’s a much more achievable goal.
Potential: Much like Jackson LaCombe when he was drafted out of high school, Callow’s skillset is raw. He has strong puck skills and a very good shot, but he’s had concerns regarding his hockey IQ and skating ability. He’s a project in every sense of the word and this season will give us a good understanding about his strengths and weaknesses against much tougher competition.